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Cities
Great Cities of Saqquar The territory of the nation is vast, and listing it's innumerable settlements are nigh impossible. Many attempts have been made over the ages, with a nearly complete list created during the Golden Era of Saqquar under Imam IV, but this would soon turn useless after the Eternal War ravaged, and forever changed the landscape of the nation. Settlements erased and new ones created. However, some of the cities have survived the test of time like no other. These are the Great Cities of Saqquar, which are the gemstones of the empire along the Ifrit and Granat river. These are: * El Shamul * Markath * Horquath * Talayet (El Granat) * Leavand El Shamul Hanging gardens, finely crafted ivory statues plated with gold, and palaces with state of the art waterworks adorn the royal district of El Shamul, the ancient capital of the province. The royal capital of Saqquar is an ancient town that has evolved with the men and woman of the nation, carrying their burden through rough times, but also decorating itself with the joy of her people. It lies between the two rivers of Ifrit and Granat, and has a pleasant cliamte that allowed this oasis town to become the home of the great Sultans that rule the nation. The city spans miles in each direction, with the breathtaking sight of the massive Royal Palace dominating the skyline. Sprawling urban regions dot the edges of the city, while the richer mansions and palaces are located further up the hill upon which stands the palace. A wonder of it's time, El Shamul has a functioning sewer system that uses the elevation of the terrain to carry waste water away from the city, thus greatly helping with the rapid expansion of the city. Ever since Imam the Benevolent came to power, the city has seen a sharp decline in political influence, but as it lies at the chokepoints of most of the important trade routes, it still has a significant economic and religious influence, only rivaled by Markath. Despite sultans since Imam I residing in Tayalet for most part of the year, the royal palace doesn't sit empty: the Senate has their hearings here, and it is the summer retreat for the royal family, when the ancient waterworks of the city prove more useful than the thick walls of Tayalet. Markath Nearing the delta of the Ifrit, travellers will gaze upon the majestic statues of the 12 Halconic Guardians as they stand guard at the gates of Markath, the gem of Ifrit, the city that lies on the borders of the ocean. The Holy city of the Saqquarian people, it marks the end point of the Halconic Trail, a pilgrimage that walks believers of the Halconic gods through the lenghty riversides of Saqquar. Entering the town upon the sacred trail, the road takes pilgrims through the main street of the town, adorned with temples and lush greenery to easen the last steps of the travel. Upon their succesful pilgrimage, believers are granted access into the otherwise locked Temple of the Halconics, the spiritual center of the Saqquarian religion. This massive temple has stood the test of time, and was recently renovated after the integration of Saqquar into the empire. If one wishes to explore more of Markath, they will find a maze of docks and markets that lay beside the sea or find themsevles wandering in the rich Merchant District, where the merchant guilds house their emporiums of luxury goods, and where the rich of the town have their palaces built. Whether one comes to visit the town for its wide array of luxury goods from across the known and unknown world or to cleanse themsevles of their spiritual burden, they will surely find what they are looking for in Markath. The Merchant Princes, once petty kings, have their own council in Markath. The city is by all means considered it's own self-governing region within the empire, with separate trade taxes applying here ever since Imam the Benevolent gave the Princes a much larger authority. The citizens here are as Saqquarian as those in Horquath, but they enjoy several priviliges over the rest of the country. Generally speaking, Markath has been an economic powerhouse for the empire, the richest region of the nation where cultures from faraway lands mix with Saqquarian traditions. To live in Markath is to answer to the Merhcant Princes and not the Sultan, and to worship the Halconics, and not the Imperial banner. Perhaps the last serious bastion of religion in Saqquar, the people here are still devoted to Inara's teachings and frown upon the Imperial banner. Horquath Bolstering the strongest fortifications in the province, Horqath was once the capital of Northern Saqquar, the kingdom which plunged the nation into a dark war for control over the control of the throne. The town lies westwards on the river Granat, but this fact can be easely overlooked if one travels through the narrow streets of the city. The river has been funneled into a large canal running along the length of the city, actins as the beating veins of this metropolis. Smaller in size than El Shamul, Horqath makes up for this in it's grandiose nature. Slowly built into a fortress city during the Eternal War, grandiose towers of dual purposes cast sahdows over the palaces that once housed the nobility and military leaders of the North Saqquar. The narrow streets run along the city in a non-uniform manner, with many small alleys and sewers connecting every parts of the city and hiding many secrets. It is a widely known secret that when one visits the black market of Horqath, they can buy just about anything as long as they have enough money. To support such an immense city, the canal contains numerous docks that are busy all around the year. Even now, decades after the eternal war, they city bears the marks of the militaristic traditions of it's former controllers. During the last years of his life, Imam VII was already working on a project to reinforce the town as means to bolster the defenses against barbaric tribes whom would frequently descend onto the norhwest part of tha nation. Horquath has been fighting them off for decades, but it was only getting an overhaul during his reign. He realized the importance of strong defences, and though the fortifications were not finished during his life, it is said that the best engineers of the north, the descendants of those who once built Tayalet for Imam the Benevolet, were the ones who worked day and night, sparing no effort to turn the city into an impregnable fortress. Talayet Al Granat Talayet Al Granat or Palace upon the river Granat is a gem of Saqquar that lies in one of the most temperate regions of the province. The city which once housed the Sultans of the old saqquar empire, Talayet is a city of great importance. Lying beside the river of Granat, this carefully planned out city stands to mock and ashame all others, even in the face of it's decay during the last years of the endless war. The city itself is divided up into two halves by the Granat: the southern side which houses the Imperial Palace (not to be confused with the Royal Palace), a gargantuan building complex which once housed all the administration required to run the old Saqquar Empire in all it's might. This side of Talayet is know as the Imperial quarters: a large walled off area, with a carefully planned street layout that houses the nobility, merchants and priests of the city. However, the northern side is quite the constrast to the southern side. Here lies even more housing, where the majority of the city lives. If one accused Horqath for having thin streets, then one will wonder how the people of northern Talayet can get around. The cityscape reaches for the skies with buildings of immense height, and unlike the southern side that is protected by a wall, the slums on the north carry on for a long time without such restraints. The long winding streets of the southern city are house to some of the most notorious criminal organizations in Saqquar. Life is very busy in Talayet due to the size of the city, and some people have taken a great interest in controlling the trade going on around here, far from the places that the prying eyes of the guards. By all accounts the capital of the empire, ever since the construction of this frankenstein city it has been waging a quiet war with El Shamul, competing over where the sultans have their seats. This has made Talayet a very popular palce for up and coming architects and engineers whose work can be seen from far away: Talayet is perhaps one of the most modern and well planned out cities in the empire, and even in the southern parts of the city you will be hard peessed to find a crumbling building, or even one that bears the marks of poverty. Leavand Once the capital of the northern coalition that fought the warlike state of the Twin Dragons during the Crusade Era, if Markath is the gem of the Ifrit, then leavand is definitely the gem of the Granat river. Where Markath has been turned into a single large canal with many controlled smaller ones sprawling out to take care of irrigation and sewage for the city, Leavand has been very much built to follow the natural flow of the river. And perhaps this is one of the biggest giveaways that Leavand is probably the least Saqquarian town of the nation. The majority of people here are foreigners who either came through the land border to which the city lies close to, or through the many ships that stop by in the city on their way to Markath. Similarly it lacks the grand architectural efforts and public works that can be found in most of the other Great Cities, one that has struggled to keep up during the years. Ever since Imam the Benevolent (and records dating even before Saqquar rule), there have been programs to try and improve on teh city's state. Though the querters near the port and the river are rich and well developed, dense urban jungles sprawl for miles along the temperate regions. Though progress has been slow, it is still noticeable: the city has been slowly giving all of it's citizens jobs in agriculture as the most temperate of the Great Cities, and the profit has been spent on bettering the life of the average citizen and creating large public works, including a state of the art irrigation system that spans miles, and helps with teh agriculture and transport inside the city.